Species

Schizaea dichotoma

Etymology

dichotoma: Forked or divided into pairs

Common Name(s)

Fan fern

Current Conservation Status

2012 - At Risk - Naturally Uncommon

Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2012
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2012 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS). This report includes a statistical summary and brief notes on changes since 2009 and replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Authors: Peter J. de Lange, Jeremy R. Rolfe, Paul D. Champion, Shannel P. Courtney, Peter B. Heenan, John W. Barkla, Ewen K. Cameron, David A. Norton and Rodney A. Hitchmough. File size: 792KB

Previous Conservation Status

2009 - At Risk - Naturally Uncommon
2004 - Sparse

Qualifiers

2012 - SO, Sp
2009 - SO

Authority

Schizaea dichotoma (L.) J.E.Sm.

Family

Schizaeaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

SCHDIC

The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.

Structural Class

Ferns

Distribution

Indigenous. In New Zealand confined to the Kermadec Islands (Raoul Island) and North Island from Te Paki south to Kawhia and Mt Maunganui, and locally around geothermally active sites around Rotorua and Taupo. Widespread from Madagascar east to Australia and across the Pacific.

Habitat

Usually associated with lowland kauri (Agathis australis (D.Don.) Lindl.) forest but also found in coastal areas and offshore island under pohutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa Sol. ex Gaertn. ) dominated forest (e.g., Mayor (Tuhua) Island). In geothermal areas it is often found under shrubs of Kunzea ericoides var. microflora (G.Simpson) W.Harris.

Similar Taxa

None. The combination of the dark green, flattened, fan-shaped frond with each stipe end (of the fan) surmounted with a fertile laminae are unique to this species within the New Zealand representatives of the genus.

Flowering

Not applicable - spore producing

Flower Colours

No Flowers

Fruiting

Not applicable - spore producing

Propagation Technique

Difficult - should not be removed from the wild

Threats

Not Threatened. A naturally uncommon, biologically sparse species. It can at times be very common but it is usually found as widely scattered populations. There is little doubt that some populations have declined due to land development and other changes in the surrounding vegetation (e.g., Mt Maunganui)